In 1 Corinthians 15:12-19, Paul makes it clear that the historical reality of the resurrection of Jesus is essential for the Christian faith. He states that if Jesus did not rise from the dead, then our faith is built upon lies and is useless because we are still in our sins (15:17) and will perish when we die (15:18). If that is the case, we should be pitied because we are living lives of hope in this world when we have none (15:19). While the truth of Jesus’s resurrection may be tough to believe at first, as dead people don’t come back to life, there are numerous good reasons for believing that Jesus really did die and come back to life, as I have discussed in this post.
The comments that Paul makes in the verses that follow point to another important pillar in the Christian faith: the reality of Adam as the first human. After stating that Jesus has been raised from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20-21), Paul writes this: “For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive” (15:22).
This is not the only time in this passage nor in Paul’s letters that we read about a connection between Adam and Jesus. Paul discusses Adam in relation to Christ in 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 and compares and contrasts them in Romans 5:12-19. There are also other passages in Paul’s letters in which biblical scholars have noted that Paul may allude back to Adam without mentioning him by name, such as the discussion of the “old man” versus the “new man” in Romans 6:6, Ephesians 4:22, and Colossians 3:9-10.
He is not the only writer to affirm Adam’s historicity and to connect Adam and Jesus. The Gospel of Luke traces Jesus’s genealogy all the way back to Adam (Luke 3:38), further showing that he existed. In addition, the temptation of Jesus by Satan that follows that reference seems to be a way to compare and contrast Jesus and Adam in that both are tempted but Jesus stays faithful in the face of temptation (Luke 4:1-13). There are other passages in Scripture that point to the historical reality of Adam that I don’t have time or space to touch upon but you can find here.
While there has been a difference of opinion about the age of the earth, there has been consensus on the importance of the special creation of Adam in light of the way he is described in these passages. That said, just as the historical reality of the resurrection has been disputed, so also has the historical reality of Adam as the first human has been disputed over the years. If interested more in terms of why the historicity of Adam is important and how it can be defended in light of various claims of modern science, I’ll refer you to this book by C. John Collins.
In this post, I wanted to briefly touch on what Paul says about the parallel between the work of Adam and Jesus, respectively.
In Adam
Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15 both describe the fact that death came to the world through Adam (1 Corinthians 15:21-22; Romans 5:12). Death came about because of Adam’s sin, which also points to another thing that Adam introduces into the world: sin itself. Sin has been in the world and ruling over us ever since Adam. Not only does death cast a dark shadow over life – reminding us that we will lose those we love and will one day face it ourselves – but sin also rules over us, for all have sinned, and it is not something that we can simply avoid.
In addition to sin and death being part of our lives, the sin of Adam has also affected our world. We read in Genesis 3:17 that the ground is cursed because of the sin of Adam, which is also discussed in Romans 8:18-22 when it states that creation has been subjected to futility and bondage, groaning for its redemption just as our bodies are groaning for redemption too. We see the effects of sin everyday in the frustrations of our work and in the harshness of the natural world. Therefore, Adam’s actions have resulted in sin, death, and futility for all of us.
In Christ
The passages comparing Adam to Christ not only shows how Christ’s death and resurrection undoes the work of Adam but also far surpasses it. Jesus conquers death and thus conquers its sting, which is sin (see 1 Corinthians 15:56), and he brings this victory to those who believe in him. It is not simply that we rise like Jesus when we die, but also that we are transformed to be like him – “the man of heaven” (see 1 Corinthians 15:47-49) – because righteousness can reign our lives even now (Romans 5:17); we become like Jesus in life as well as after death. Christ defeats sin’s grip upon us but also upon the world, as the curse that is upon the world itself will end when Christ comes in his kingdom (see 1 Corinthians 15:24-28).
Jesus thus undoes the work of Adam, countering the very things that Adam’s sin introduced – but he does more in that his work also transforms the things that Adam broke. Our bodies go from being corruptible to being incorruptible (1 Corinthians 15:42-46, 51-54). This does not mean that our bodies become “spiritual” in that they are no longer physical, but they reflect the realities of heaven and are fit for the kingdom in which there is no sin or death. In addition, the grace of God that is at work far surpasses the sin that is in the world because of Adam. Paul makes this point when he says in Romans 5:20, “But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more” and throughout that passage in his repeated statements about “how much more.” Christ’s work is not just better than Adam in terms of quality but also in quantity!
Adam and Christ – In Whom Are You?
The discussion of Adam and Christ in Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians speaks about people being in Adam and in Christ. There is no in between, one is either in one or in the other. Because we are all humans, we are thus all connected to Adam; we are naturally in the one who was made from dust and in whose humanity we share. In contrast, we are only in Christ when we identify ourselves with and in him, believing that he is the one who was like Adam in his humanity but also has the heavenly origin as the Son of God and thus unlike Adam in being without sin.
Those passages speak about how all are made alive in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:22) and how the many are made righteous through him (Romans 5:18-19). Those statements should not be read as these things apply to every person, but rather that to all those who have moved from being “in Adam” to being “in Christ.” These texts thus raise the question of in whom are you – Adam or Christ? When you are in Christ, you have hope in life and death and are called to walk like him rather than like Adam. Who are you living more like today?
Questions about the Bible or theology? Email them to Pastor Brian at Theology@WeAreFaith.org. You can also email to be added to the list that receives weekly emails with our blog posts.
